Kerry Brougher Named Director Of Academy Museum Of Motion Pictures

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has appointed Kerry Brougher as director of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Brougher brings to the role three decades of curatorial, fundraising, leadership and planning expertise, most recently with the Smithsonian Institution, where he served as interim director and chief curator of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C.

 

Brougher, who has already led a number of creative workshops for the Academy Museum, will report to Academy CEO Dawn Hudson. Bill Kramer, who serves as the managing director of the Academy Museum and external relations, will report to Brougher on Museum issues and to Hudson on external relations issues, including fundraising and partnerships not tied to the Museum.

 

At the Hirshhorn, Brougher oversaw all art-related aspects of the museum, including the departments of curatorial, education, publications, registration, conservation, archives and photography/rights and reproductions. He developed the museum’s reputation as an international, interdisciplinary, collaborative and media-oriented institution, and was responsible for establishing and implementing its exhibition program, with a special focus on major thematic exhibitions, film and new media.

 

Brougher was previously director of the Museum of Modern Art in Oxford, England, where he oversaw operations, fundraising, and architectural and business plans for the museum as well as created multiple exhibitions that toured internationally. Before that he was curator at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. As part of the original MOCA curatorial team, Brougher worked on the development and launch of the Geffen Contemporary and the Bunker Hill building. Brougher has published numerous essays in major catalogs and monographs, taught as an adjunct professor of art history at Pepperdine University, served on the advisory board of Art21 at PBS and has received numerous awards for his exhibitions, which include “Hall of Mirrors: Art and Film since 1945,” “Notorious: Alfred Hitchcock and Contemporary Art,” “The Cinema Effect: Illusion, Reality, and the Moving Image,” and “Doug Aitken: SONG 1,” a 360-degree projection commissioned for the façade of the Hirshhorn.

 

“Kerry’s stellar curatorial background, deep knowledge, and passion for art and film won the instant support of the Academy’s Board of Governors and will make him the perfect person to lead our Museum,” said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. “His appointment will go a long way towards establishing the Museum as a world-class destination celebrating the cultural power of movies and moviemaking.”

 

“We’re thrilled after a comprehensive search to have retained Kerry as our director,” said Academy CEO Dawn Hudson. “He has already begun to play an instrumental role in the creative direction of the Museum. His operational experience running great museums and bold creative vision will ensure that our Museum fulfills the Academy’s highest ambitions as a center of excellence for the motion picture arts and sciences.”

 

“I’m honored to join this prestigious organization,” Brougher said. “I look forward to working closely with Cheryl, Dawn and the Academy staff to create an iconic, international museum that embodies the same innovative spirit as motion pictures themselves.”

 

Designed by Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali, the Academy Museum will be located next to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in the historic Wilshire May Company building. Slated to open in 2017, the Academy Museum will contain nearly 300,000 square feet of state-of-the-art galleries, exhibition spaces, theaters, screening rooms, education centers, and special event spaces.